


Chocolate... Cake?

by fromcrossroadstoking



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Post-War, i really just cant get enough of their friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24428134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromcrossroadstoking/pseuds/fromcrossroadstoking
Summary: Spina heads down to Louisiana to visit Roe. Roe attempts to bake for the occasion (it does not go well).
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Chocolate... Cake?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the HBO War characterizations, not the actual men.

Roe could whip up a mean gumbo or an amazing plate of eggs. He could cook a burger to perfection and work magic with pork chops. What he could not do however, was bake. He frowned down at the godawful looking thing he had just pulled out of the oven. Staring at the lopsided and oddly lumpy thing, he suddenly very much regretted not just going to a bakery. His eyes darted to the kitchen clock above the stove.

_Goddammit._

It was too late now. Everything would be closed and he had no choice but to make the best he could out of what he had. Rubbing his eyes and sighing (dear God was he tired), he went about trying to make frosting.

_Cake`s gotta have frosting. Might make it look better too._

Roe did his best to follow the recipe. It didn’t seem that hard, only a few ingredients. Unfortunately, the end result was, like the cake, oddly lumpy. He did his best to get the lumps out but eventually had to admit defeat. He still had to frost the damn thing, clean up, and get to the train station to pick Spina up.

~

Roe managed to get to the station just as the train from Philly was pulling in. He anxiously waited for his friend get off of the train. It had been months since they last saw each other and Roe missed the hell out of him. After the two met right before Bastogne, Spina had quickly become the best friend Roe had ever had, ever. The only downside to the friendship was the physical distance that laid between them when they got back to the States.

“Hey Gene! You gonna help me with this shit or what?”

Roe grinned and had to restrain himself from bounding over like an overexcited puppy to where Spina stood, struggling with his bag and several packages.

“Thought you were comin’ for a visit, not movin’ down.”

“Ha Ha. Just take some of these huh?”

Gene grabbed a couple of the packages from Spina and the two men made their way to Roe`s car.

“So what’s all this then?”

“Eh, you know. Lily`s gotta make sure you’re eatin’ enough. Sent down cookies and pastries and stuff. She thinks you’re too damn skinny.”

Roe’s stomach growled at the thought of Lily`s homemade treats. Spina`s wife was a helluva cook and baker. And she probably would have cried if she saw the nightmare of a cake Roe had made.

After getting Spina’s bag and the other packages loaded in to the car, Spina pulled Roe into one of his signature bear hugs that almost always squashed all the air from Roe`s lungs.

“Gotta breathe Ralph!” Roe wriggled for effect in Spina`s arms, who gave him one more tight squeeze before finally releasing him. 

“Yeah, yeah. Don`t be dramatic.”

~

Roe`s apartment was a small place, just the right size for one man and an occasional guest. Spina made himself right at home, dumping his things in the glorified closet that Roe called a guest room before joining Roe in the kitchen. The kitchen was filled with the now familiar smell of Roe`s homemade gumbo and, Spina sniffed at the air, _chocolate_? His stomach let out a loud growl just as Roe appeared from the pantry with bowls.

“Didn’t Lily feed you before she sent you off?”, Roe grinned.

“That was hours ago! ‘Sides I didn’t have any lunch. Now hand over some of that gumbo before I starve to death on your kitchen floor.”

The two men traded news and friendly jabs as they wolfed down their dinner.

“Jesus Gene, you could sell that stuff you know?”

Roe snorted, “You’re only saying that 'cause mine’s the only gumbo you’ve had.”

“Kid, I gotta teach you how to take a compliment.”

“Yeah, well, you ain’t gonna be full of compliments when you see dessert. Close your eyes.”

Spina did as he was told. He could hear Roe off in the small pantry mumbling something as he moved around. When he heard Roe return and plop something down on the table, Spina fought the urge to open his eyes right then and there.

“Alright,” Roe actually sounded a bit nervous, “try not to laugh too hard huh? I did really try. Despite what it looks like. You can go 'head 'n’ open your eyes now." 

Upon opening his eyes, Spina’s sight immediately landed on what he couldn’t help but assume was Roe’s first attempt at a chocolate cake. Possibly Roe’s first attempt at baking any cake. Or anything. At all. Ever.

He brought his hand up to his mouth as he tried to swallow back a laugh. The thing was beyond misshapen. The frosting was lumpy and it looked like Roe had tried to frost it well before the cake had cooled. The whole thing tilted to one side, like a landslide waiting to happen. Hell, if he didn’t know that Roe was responsible for the chocolate fiasco in front of him, he would have assumed his three year old had created it.

"Happy belated birthday Ralph,” there was a questioning tone to Roe’s statement that melted Spina’s heart. The kid really had tried his best.

“Thanks Gene! Looks good! Looks, um, _chocolaty_.”

There was a moment of silence as the two of them gazed at the cake between them.

“You should maybe blow out the candles 'fore they slide off the damn thing.”

Spina bit the inside of his lip as he noted that the candles were indeed starting to lean precariously. He cleared his throat as he tried to stop the laughter he could feel building.

“Right. Ok.” Leaning forward, he made a wish and blew out the candles. The small gust from the action proved too much for one candle as it immediately lost its battle with gravity and unceremoniously flopped over onto the cake.

There was a beat before both Roe and Spina broke in to fits of laughter, tears pouring down their cheeks.

“Gene, you’re my best friend 'n’ I love you 'n’ you make gumbo so damn good you could probably get rich selling it. But I don’t think you’ll be selling cakes anytime soon.”

Roe pretended to seriously consider this for a moment before solemnly nodding his head.

“No, I don’t reckon I will be.”

They grinned at each other before grabbing spoons and digging in to the mess which, thankfully, didn’t taste half bad.


End file.
